Gone
by jazzmonkey
Summary: It wasn't supposed to be this way. Dan had expected to come back to happiness. He had hoped that when he came back, they would be pleased and excited, that they would have created lives for themselves. True, they had created lives with each other. But not like this, not with bitter regrets and tears. Dan wanted to stand next to her when he returned. That was his first mistake.


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own bakugan. This takes place after Episode 46 "End of the Line". It just bugged me that Runo was okay with the fact that he left, and Shun was alright with it as well, so I wrote a little one-shot about the aftermath.**

**Bold **is thoughts

_Italics _is flashbacks

Ages:

Dan, Runo, Julie, Billy- 22

Marucho- 20

Shun, Alice- 23

SHUN POV

_I sighed at Julie. Still the same as when we all first met. I turned toward the sea. Suddenly, my eyes landed on a familiar figure, and it was getting into a boat. It was Dan. I turned away from him. Even though he didn't mean it, he'd just dumped a ton of pain on me._

It had been three years since then. Since Dan had left during HIS party to find his next adventure.

I had quickly taken number one alongside Skyress after he had left, and I was just as undefeatable as he was. But, it wasn't the same. He was gone. No more cheering, speeches, crazy yelling, or even some arguments.

Mira went back to Vestal and last I heard, her and Ace had finally started dating. All of us were upset. His fans slowly died out, either switching to another group or simply dropping out of the game.

Julie was still doing really well as a reporter, even winning a couple of awards here and there, and she and Billy were going strong, but she had her occasional sad moments when she suddenly realized she wouldn't hear his voice again. They were going to be engaged soon, at least, that's what Billy hoped.

Marucho moved on, throwing himself into the next project that came by. He brawled occasionally, but Preya tended to let him work. Yes, Preyas had come back. He was now well on his way to taking over the family business.

After Dan left, he became his own person, never letting himself be a shadow to anyone. But, it was clear that he hurt just as much. He tended to work crazily, like the more he did, the less he had to think about our best friend.

His girlfriend was a booming restaurant owner. She had taken over a couple branches of her family's diner, and caused the place to explode with customers. Runo simply covered her shattered heart again with fake smiles and broken laughter. Tigrerra did as much as she could, but it was never enough.

A part of her died that day, or it left with her only love. Either way, it was gone, and that light didn't seem like it was going to come back. Replacing it, there was now always a longing in her eyes as she talked to me, like she was begging me to find a way to bring him back. We spent a lot more time together, but it was too easy to tell that she'd lost him too many times really take it anymore by the way she acted. She never even really spoke anymore.

As for me, I left the subject alone. Everyone else needed me then, and they still need me from time to time. I've gained a lot of popularity, but, I was never interested in that stuff the way Dan had been. But, Jaakor had left, and Skyress came back. After talking to all of my past bakugan, she was convinced enough to come back. But, it was little comfort.

Three years. A long time. I was finally at the top, but, did it really matter? My one rival and friend was gone, and I would most likely never come across him again.

DAN POV

"Hey, Drago?"

"Yes, Dan?"

I looked at the sky, "How do you think everyone is doing?" I asked.

"I don't really know Daniel, but, I hope that they're alright."

"Yeah…"

BILLY POV

Another day in work. It was still a lot of fun, even though Julie was now grown up and had a couple more responsibilities. She and I were still dating, and I'd been back for a year now, as the cameraman for her, actually. We were going to meet up with the others at Runo's restaurant, which was run by Alice right now, since Runo wasn't up to it right now.

"Julie!" I yelled.

"Yes?"

"We're starting!"

"Oh, yeah! I'm so sorry!"

I shook my head, "Three, two, one."

"Hey everyone! Julie here! Okay…"

"Okay, what's up Jules?" I said, putting down my camera. It was NOT like her to forget her cue.

Julie sighed, "It's nothing, Billy."

I grabbed her hands, "You can't fool me."

"It's just that… it's been three years, Billy!"

"Julie!"

"Three years! He NEVER picks up when we call!"

"Julie, please, people are staring."

She broke down, "He's not coming back, Billy. He's not coming back."

I hugged her, "I don't think he is."

"Runo, Marucho, and Shun are all upset. Well, Runo and Marucho are. Shun, I haven't seen him lately, but that's what Alice tells me." She rubbed away her tears. "Sorry, this was out of nowhere."

"It's fine, Jules. I know how you feel."

Julie stood up, put a cheerful smile on her face, and smoothed her skirt, "Well, it's time to go! Our news time is over, so let's head over to the restaurant!" Julie said, and smiled at my shocked nod.

As they walked, I said, "Speaking of Alice, I still can't believe that Shun proposed."

"I know!" Julie squealed, "It was so romantic! He's so thoughtful, but it's only to her and Runo."

I chuckled nervously. I had really high standards to measure up to beat Shun, didn't I? MAN, why did the ninja have to be so perfect?

JULIE POV

They made their way quickly to Runo's, and were met with a very amusing sight. "Alice," I giggled, "How did you manage that?" she said pointing to where Billy was staring.

Somehow, the redhead managed to get Shun to help with serving, and he was now being called out in several directions by the female clientele. "It wasn't hard. He saw that I was having a bit of trouble since the waitress called in sick today."

"You have him wrapped around your finger, don'tcha?" I asked teasingly.

"No. I do not."

"Please Alice, even I know that he's hopelessly in love with you," Billy retorted.

Alice rolled her eyes, but she was blushing. "Here, wait here, the dinner rush is almost over, so I'll close the shop then. You guys want anything 'til then?"

"Just some bubble tea, Alice," I replied.

"Water's cool with me," Billy said.

As she got their drinks, disappearing into the kitchen, Marucho walked in, finding them quickly and sitting down. "How are you two?" he asked politely.

"Just fine, Marucho. You?"

"Doing okay, Billy."

Marucho glanced behind the taller man, "Is that-" he started, looking at the man making his way toward them.

"Hey, guys," said the man, passing them.

"Yep. It's him."

Shun went over to the counter, "Hey, Alice. They're gone! I'm done!"

Alice chuckled, "Aw, really? You sure you don't want to do another shift?"

"No. I'm done."

"Thanks for the help."

He nodded his head before collapsing next to Billy. Billy laughed, "How were those girls?"

Shun shot my boyfriend a dirty look, "Not even funny."

Alice walked over from the closed door sign, "I thought it was, Shun."

"You would, Alice."

"How have you been, Marucho? We haven't heard from you in a week!" Alice questioned, sitting down next to me.

He shrugged. He'd actually grown a bit, making him seem more like his age. "I have been busy. I've been updating a lot of companies systems."

"Do you ever take a break?" I asked.

"I do. Just not so much time. How about you, Julie? You must be pretty stressed."

I must have looked taken aback, "Why do you say that?"

Shun took a closer look at my face, "You've been crying, haven't you?" he asked bluntly.

"What? No! Of course not."

Alice put her hand on mine, "No matter how good you are at acting or makeup, you can't fool us. Why have you been crying?"

Billy was about to answer, but I sent him a sharp glare, "I-I was just thinking about Runo."

As the air became much darker and thicker, Shun stood up, "Well. Sitting here isn't going to do anything. It's time to see her anyway. Do you guys want to come with me?"

I stood as well. "Definitely."

Alice locked the doors, and followed the group. She stood next to Shun, but her thoughts were wandering. The entire group knew that Shun went to talk to Runo every day. It didn't change her, but he refused to give up.

NOONE'S POV

Dan walked past a huge store filled with TV screens. "Hey, Dan?" the younger girl from his group asked.

Dan walked past with his friends. "Hey, who's that?"

He stopped and glanced back at the battle playing on screen, "Oh," he said, continuing on, "That's just Shun and Alice tag-team battling." He stopped in my tracks, and ran backward. "Another win for Team Battle Brawlers! These two are unstoppable!" the voice paused, and Alice shook her head, while Shun said something. Even in the din, Dan could tell what it was. Julie.

"It looks like they've grown up, Dan," Drago said.

Dan nodded, "Yeah." His focus was still on the ventus and darkus brawlers. "Not to mention they make a great couple!" Julie added. Dan gapped at the words. His friend had actually hooked up with the Russian beauty?

Alice had grown into even more of a beauty, if it were possible. A full figure with pale skin, pink plump lips, fiery hair that ended at her mid elbow, and warm eyes. She was wearing purple shorts, a white halter, a black vest, black high heels, and a long necklace with a matching bracelet.

Shun was taller and thinner. His skin was still the same, and his hair only slightly shorter than when Dan had last seen him. His face was slightly more angular, but his eyes were still the same fierce color. He was sporting black jeans which had a chain attached to them, a green short sleeve, a dark green bubble vest, dark boots, black gloves that went halfway up his forearm, and a choker. The chain held a charm similar to Alice's. All in all, they looked older.

As they raised their hands, he caught a glimpse of a ring on Alice's finger. They were engaged…

"Um, Rachel?" he asked the girl next to him.

"Yeah?"

"Can you please go without me to the arenas?" he asked.

Now, usually, she would ask him everything, but something told her to leave it alone. "Ok Dan. Come on guys. See ya later?"

"Yep."

The brawler strolled a while before reaching a new, but familiar shop. He opened the door, which made a tinkling sound.

"Sorry," a familiar voice chimed, "We're closed. Can you please come again-" the now-woman looked up and stopped. She had changed into a more waitressing dress, but dropped the rag she was using to clean the countertop when she registered who he was. "No," she breathed.

MARUCHO POV

Julie and I walked into the store, smiling and laughing. We froze suddenly when we saw the person in front of us.

"Hey, Alice! I'm going to go, okay?" Shun said. There was a quick succession of steps before the ninja appeared at the bottom of the stairway.

Julie and I winced at his voice, "He's so dead," I said softly.

Shun, about to give her a quick kiss, gave the still frozen Alice a glance before letting his gaze drift to where hers was placed, "What're you looki-" he started. His eyes narrowed, "Dan."

"Hey, guys! You're all here! Where's my girlfriend?" Dan said, his voice light and happy, as if the last three years hadn't existed.

Shun growled softly, but Alice put a hand on his arm to calm him down. Dan chuckled again, "I never thought I would see the day Shun got a girlfriend, let alone a fiancé."

Shun gave him a dark look, briskly making his way around the counter, "Why do you care, Dan? You left three years ago."

"I still want to see her."

"Who says she wants to see you?" Shun asked, his eyes dangerously tight.

"Look, dude, I was gone, I know. But, Runo's fine with it, right? She always is."

"You never even called her, or even told her in some way that you were still alive."

"I was busy."

"Finding new friends to hang out with?" Shun asked bitterly. Shun's temper was rising, which wasn't good for any of us. But, none of us were about to stop the fully deserved reality that was about to hit Dan.

"Look, I'm sorry, Shun, but can I just see her? Talk to her?"

"No. No one can talk to her."

"That's harsh dude."

Shun grabbed his friend's collar, "You don't get it! None of us can talk to her! She's been in a freaking COMA for TWO and a HALF YEARS!"

ALICE POV

Dan stared, "What?"

Shun let him go, "Runo's in a coma."

"Why?"

Shun jabbed him with each word, "Because you left."

"How?"

He walked over to the door, opening it, "She tried to commit suicide."

With a slam of a door, the raven haired brawler was gone.

Dan stood there, shocked. His cell rang, but he didn't reach for it. I picked it up from the table he'd set it on and opened it, answering that he was busy, and then hung up.

She was the only one who really could look at him. Julie and Marucho weren't making eye contact with their once leader. "Tell me he's kidding." Dan suddenly asked. I bit her lip. "Tell me, guys! Tell me!" he yelled at the three.

Julie lifted her head, and they could see the tears flowing freely. "He wasn't joking, Dan! Runo tried to kill herself after you left! Even worse, Shun had to watch it all happen!"

"What do you mean, Julie?"

The reporter refused to say anything, sitting down in the booth next to Marucho. I gestured for Dan to sit as she took her seat on the right, next to Julie.

"Well, Dan... I guess you need to know. It was time ago. Runo was feeling down lately, so Shun had been spending a lot of time with her to try and get her, to well, do anything."

"Wha-"

"She went through multiple phases. Denial, anger, sadness, and finally depression. She thought she wasn't good enough for you Dan. First she became anorexic. She almost took pills, but I found her in time. She sat there, crying into Shun's shoulder for an hour. Then, an extreme makeover phase, and finally settled on a fake mask of happiness," I stopped taking in Dan's expression. He was utterly silent.

"One day, she told Shun that she'd be gone for a while, so I'd need help taking care of the shop. He didn't trust that, so he followed. She had already tried to kill herself by cutting and pills. As he got there, he ran to catch up, but, right when he was two feet from her, she jumped off the cliff."

I had tears brimming in my eyes, "Dan, Shun watched as Runo tried to die because you left."

"It never affected her before. Why now then?"

"Well, Julie had Billy, Marucho had found a girl named Molly, and there was me and Shun. Dan, she was forced to see all of us grow up together with our loved ones while she stayed lonely."

"She could have found someone…"

The patient girl scoffed, "She believed that you would come back one day. Many people did ask her, but she turned them all down, saying 'I already have someone. I'm just waiting for him'."

"But-"

My expression turned slightly harsher, "Dan, I'm talking to you as a friend, but you really screwed up this time. Not only did we have to go through endless days of waiting to see if she would survive surgery, Runo, my best friend, might never wake up."

Julie and Marucho gave Dan harsh looks as well. "But, I didn't mean to!"

I shook my head, and continued as if he hadn't interrupted, "And, as for Shun...he took all responsibilities onto himself. Everyone was a wreak of some kind, and he took great care to make sure everyone was fine. Marucho went pretty angry after he found out you left AGAIN," I said, giving Marucho a small nod at his blushing.

"Julie was crying a lot because you never bothered to say goodbye, but sent Kato to do it for you. The others tried, but they all ended up going back home, and Billy took over Julie's problem." I nodded to Julie.

"Billy?" Dan started. I gave him a look. He quieted.

"Runo was a complete mess. It took him weeks to just get her to come out of the room. I eventually came because he was starting to crack under the pressure. He almost collapsed in a couple battles. He went to the hospital because of malnutrition. Shun had to go to therapy because he blamed himself so much. He's fine now, but...Dan, while you left the group to have the time of your life, you left all of your old friends to suffer."

I stood up from the silent booth, and let Julie and Marucho out with quiet farewells. Dan sat there, doing nothing at all. He stared at the table in front of him.

I looked at the still silent boy. "Dan, I don't know how, but until you prove that we can trust you again, I don't think Shun will ever let you see Runo, let alone even talk to you." I waited for Dan to get up and leave. I watched as he walked away in a trance.

DAN POV

I dropped off my stuff at the hotel and walked to the park. At least that hadn't changed. I sat at the bench where Runo and I had our first kiss. Collapsing onto the soft brown wood, I leaned back. Had I really caused so much trouble?

Julie, Marucho, and Alice all felt awful after I left. And Shun and Runo…**They suffered so much after I decided to go on my trip. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.**

I looked up at the stars and the bright moon. It seemed to arch over the clouds that tried to cover it, just the kind that Runo loved to see. Now that I thought about it, everything reminded me of her. **She's in a coma because of me, they won't speak to me, and my best friend hates my guts. Just great.**

I sighed, "What am I supposed to do now?"

I thought about all the good times I had with the new friends I made, but I had missed my old friends more. They hated me now, and I couldn't live with that.

"Shun..." I said to the silent night. The redhead's words echoed in my head. **Malnutrition, therapy...** I sat there for a while. Runo always did love the night.

"I'm sorry Runo." The rain began to pour down. I stood up and started to make my way back to the hotel, thinking about how to fix the life I'd left behind.

**Jazz makes yet another ^^**

**I've just been feeling angsty lately, and this was my way of getting it out. **

**I had originally thought to make this a full story, but I couldn't get any ideas to take it through, so it stayed like this since the episode "End of the Line". I hope you guys like it. It's not my best, but it was nice to get off my chest. Thanks for reading!**


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